Indirect Spend Buyer

AFL manufactures industry-leading fiber optic cable connectivity and accessories and provides engineering and installation services for some of the largest telecom customers in the world. Our company was founded in 1984 with a single fiber optic cable and today we manufacture thousands of products generate an excess of $2B in revenue and employ approximately 11000 associates worldwide. At AFL we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset. We hire and train each individual investing in them to ensure success in their careers. With a commitment to professional development and growth let us connect you to your next career opportunity.

What We Offer:

• A hybrid in office schedule for qualifying employees
• Flexible time off policy
• 401K Company match (up to 4% - dollar for dollar)
• Professional development training and tuition reimbursement programs
• Excellent medical dental vision and life insurance policy options
• Opportunities for career advancement with an industry leading company!

Job Summary

The Indirect Spend Buyer is responsible for facilitating indirect procurement process at AFL with heavy emphasis on procurement of capital equipment facility upgrades and related services. This role develops sourcing strategies negotiates contracts and ensures timely delivery of CapEx projects while optimizing total cost of ownership and mitigating risk. The Buyer partners closely with Engineering Operations Finance and other stakeholders to align procurement activities with project timelines and budget requirements. Key responsibilities include supplier performance management contract negotiation financial analysis compliance with company policies and driving continuous improvement in CapEx purchasing processes.

Responsibilities

Strategic Sourcing & Category Management

• Perform standard purchase order management duties - placement acknowledgement follow up with suppliers communication with stakeholders (requestors receiving function AFL PMO team etc.)
• Build and execute category strategies for capital equipment and critical indirect services in accordance with communicated requirements from various AFL functions leveraging market intelligence shouldâcost analysis and TCO models.
• Create multiâyear roadmaps for preferred suppliers standardization and technology refresh cycles to reduce complexity and cost.
• Other Duties as assigned by Supply Chain Management Team

Support the CapEx Procurement Lifecycle

• Lead sourcing RFx (RFI/RFP/RFQ) commercial analysis and award recommendations for capital equipment tooling facility upgrades engineering services etc.
• Develop and manage procurement plans aligned to project timelines budget approvals and stageâgate processes.
• Coordinate preâinstall site readiness logistics commissioning and warranty/afterâsales support planning.

Supplier Identification Evaluation & Performance

• Identify and preâqualify OEMs and integrators; run competitive events; coordinate the evaluation of technical fit capacity lead times and lifecycle support.
• Work with AFL user functions to onboard AFL selected suppliers
• Negotiate commercial terms payment milestones warranties service levels and performance guarantees; monitor supplier KPIs (OTD quality uptime etc.)

Contracting & Risk Management

• Work with AFL PMO team to draft and negotiate contracts MSAs SoWs and equipment purchase agreements in partnership with AFL Legal team.
• Mitigate risks via milestoneâbased payments acceptance criteria liquidated damages spare parts strategies and IP/technology protection.
• Ensure compliance with AFL company policies audit requirements and applicable regulations (e.g. safety environmental cybersecurity for connected equipment).

Financial Stewardship & Analytics

• Build cost models and business cases; perform TCO and ROI/NPV analyses; benchmark pricing and total lifecycle costs.
• Track and report savings (hard and soft) cost avoidance cash flow timing and capitalization vs. expense treatment in alignment with Finance.
• Validate invoices against milestones and deliverables; manage change orders and variance controls.

CrossâFunctional Collaboration

• Partner with Engineering Operations Facilities IT EHS and Finance to translate technical requirements into commercial outcomes.
• Facilitate designâtoâcost and standardization decisions and equipment specification finalization.
• Drive consensus in vendor selection through structured scorecards and risk/benefit tradeâoff reviews.

Project & Stakeholder Management

• Collaborate closely with AFL PMO team to align procurement workstreams for multiple CapEx projects to timelines/dependencies with clear line of sight to critical path.
• Communicate status risks and mitigation actions to stakeholders; escalate issues proactively to enable onâtime commissioning.

Data Integrity & Systems

• Maintain accurate records in ERP (quotes POs contracts assets); ensure item and supplier master data quality.
• Use dashboards to monitor budgets commitments forecasted cash out and supplier performance; drive dataâbacked decisions.

Sustainability & Compliance

• Integrate ESG criteria into sourcing (energy efficiency endâofâlife recycling supplier CSR practices).
• Ensure alignment to safety and regulatory requirements throughout equipment lifecycle.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to streamline CapEx purchasing standardize specifications and reduce total lifecycle cost.
• Lead postâimplementation reviews to capture lessons learned; institutionalize best practices and templates.

Personal Qualities

• Compelling and persuasive communicator with excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to analyze relevant metrics with good grasp of technical requirements
• Works well under pressure/stress
• High attention to detail

Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree or Masters Degree Preferred
• Proficient with MS Office Products; Excel specifically.
• Prior office related experience in Supply Chain functions required
• Minimum of 3 years experience with Indirect Spend and CapEx purchase negotiations
• CPM CPIM is a plus
• Project Management experience is a plus

Working Conditions

• The physical environment requires the employee to work indoors under climate controlled conditions. Employee may on occasion be required to work overtime.